THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503050231
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
The Lady Monarchs didn't take care of the ball as well as coach Wendy Larry would have liked, but they still were able to take care of business.
Despite 21 turnovers, Old Dominion (24-5, 13-1) rolled past William and Mary, 81-58, Saturday night before 1,466 spectators at the ODU field house to clinch a tie with James Madison for first place in the Colonial Athletic Association. A coin toss will determine which team will be seeded first in the CAA tournament, which will begin Thursday on the Lady Monarchs' home floor.
``If you have 21 turnovers, then there's a problem,'' Larry said. ``We have a goal of trying to keep it under 15. If you give it up, you've got to get it back.''
And that's just what the Lady Monarchs did.
After losing the ball on their first possession, 6-foot-3 freshman Nyree Roberts made a steal that set up a 15-6 run. Clarisse Machanguana put ODU on the board and scored six of her nine first-half points in a little more than a minute.
Machanguana finished with a team-high 18 points.
The Lady Monarchs increased their lead to 17 with 6:08 left in the half by connecting on 4 of 6 free throws and forcing six Tribe turnovers, using a full-court man-to-man trap defense.
On offense, Old Dominion had its way with the Tribe's 2-1-2 zone and easily worked the ball inside to Machanguana and Roberts, while also taking advantage of Sarah Willyerd's hot hand on the perimeter.
Willyerd, back in the starting lineup after being suspended Wednesday night for disciplinary reasons, was 4 of 7 from the field in the first half.
``I felt pretty good about my shot,'' said Willyerd, who finished with 17 points, 10 higher than her season average. ``I just kept taking them.''
The Lady Monarchs, who led, 33-20, at halftime, held William and Mary to just four field goals in the first eight minutes and raced to a 54-35 lead.
The Lady Monarchs also took control on the boards with 34-18 second-half advantage.
Roberts added 11 points and Ticha Penicheiro nine assists for ODU.
Aquendine Khasidis scored 23 points for William and Mary (7-20, 3-11), and Nekisa Cooper added 14. by CNB